Tuesday,
November 15th is the Indiana GIS Day and conference for all
levels of GIS users. Geographic Information Systems provide us a
way of viewing and changing layers of geographic information.
For the agenda and a brochure, see the Indiana Office of
Technology’s Geographic
Information Officewebsite. For more information about
the conference, you can contact Jim Sparks (gio@iot.in.gov)
or Amanda O'Daniel (amodaniel@iot.in.gov).

Just
because Halloween celebrates all things scary doesn’t mean you
want any safety scares of your own this year. Use these tips
from USA.gov to make sure you and your family have a fun and
safe holiday.

Pick visible costumes.
When you’re costume shopping, encourage your kids to pick
brightly colored
costumes.
That way it will be easier for cars to see them on dark
roads. If they insist on wearing dark colors, stick some
reflective tape on the costumes to help them be more
noticeable. You can also put reflective tape on their candy
bags and give your children flashlights to carry.

Use face paint instead of
a mask with your children’s costumes. Face paint may
work better than a mask when it comes to visibility. If you
decide to paint designs on your kids’ faces, follow the directions
on the face paint packaging closely. You may want to test
the face paint a few days before Halloween to make sure it
doesn’t irritate your children’s skin. And make sure to
avoid their eyes when you apply it.

Don’t snack while
trick-or-treating. Wait
until you get home
so that you have a chance to inspect your children’s candy.
To prevent snacking, give your kids a small meal before they
head out. When they get home, toss out any candy with opened
or damaged wrappers and homemade treats, unless you know the
giver personally.

Consider using a glow
stick or battery-powered lights
instead of candles in luminaries or in jack-o-lanterns,
especially around little kids who could get burned or
drapery that could catch fire. Make sure your kids’
Halloween costumes are flame resistant in case a cape or
other part of the costume comes near an open flame.

Don’t
forget – in one week it will be time to “fall back” into
Standard Time. As mandated by the Energy Policy Act
of 2005, Daylight
Saving Time (DST) currently starts on the second Sunday in March
and ends on the first Sunday in November. The idea of Daylight
Saving Time has been floating around since Benjamin Franklin
first proposed it in his essay An Economical
Project. However, it
wasn’t until 1918 that the United States officially adopted it
as a policy. Due to its lack of popularity, it was discontinued
in 1919. During World War II, more states started using it
again, and it wasn’t until 1966 that the Uniform Time Act
was passed, which mandated that DST start and stop on specific
dates. States were (and are) still able to opt out of DST, but
it had to begin and end on the same day everywhere. The basic
principle is to transfer an hour of early morning daylight –
theoretically when fewer people are up – to the evening, so more
people can enjoy it. The reasons for its early unpopularity are
pretty obvious – at the time, we were still a largely agrarian
society. Most people were already awake to enjoy the daylight
and few stores were open later anyway. Regardless, whether you
want your light in the morning or at night, DST will come to an
end at 2:00 AM on Sunday, November 6. Don’t forget to set your
clock!

It’s
time for another video challenge! This time it’s all about
healthy eating habits. The USDA
wants to know how you add fruits and vegetables to your daily
diet without breaking the bank. Do you garden? Buy in bulk with
friends and split it amongst yourselves? Order extra veggies on
the side at a restaurant? Put your ideas in a video and send it
in! The MyPlate
Fruits & Veggies Video Contest
has three categories: Tips for kids, Tips when eating at home,
and Tips when eating away from home. The contest goes until the
15th of November, with winners announced on December
14. Those who don’t want to make a video can still participate –
public voting also lasts until November 15, so be sure to check
out the Video Gallery
to see what has been submitted. As an extra incentive, there’s a
cash prize: first place winners in each category will receive
$1500, second place winners $1000, and “Popular Choice” $500.
For details, see the Official Rules here.

Patrons
who are parents can sometimes use a boost in the form of
information. There are many government information resources
available to bolster parents’ knowledge about child development.
At the federal level, try the CDC
and MedlinePlus.
The Centers for Disease Control Facts About Child
Development website
provides videos, positive parenting tips, and information about
health monitoring and screening recommended for healthy
children. The Medline Plus webpage on Child Development
is a lengthy directory to resources for children from three
years old to 11 years old. The Indiana Department of Education
features an Information for
Parents website
which includes helpful education standards, news, and Professor Garfield,
a fun, interactive, animated educational tool from Ball State
University to help students with reading.

Friday Facts is a free
publication produced by the Indiana State Library, distributed weekly in an
electronic format.
Past issues are archived at www.in.gov/library/newsroom.htm.